Wednesday, November 24, 2004

Have a happy Thanksgiving and however you celebrate it please remember to be thankful for the many blessings of God. Michelle Malkin has a beautiful column about being grateful in this country, very much on point and it really hits home, check it out.

For you parents out there, this is a link to some articles and stories of Thanksgiving from a Christian perspective. I liked this one in particular as it ties into the saying grace theme.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Attempts by Rep. Ron Paul to add special language to the omnibus spending bill in Congress, the one that will allow for mandatory mental health screening of children and all individuals eventually, has failed. Yet Mr. Paul is not giving up. World Net Daily has reported that he will continue his efforts when the new Congress convenes next year.

I have to admit, it is quite frightening to know that there are people within our own government who would o.k. such a measure. Much of the reports I've read point to the notion that the drug companies would benefit from this measure as it could potentially widen their market for anti-depressant drugs and behavioral modification medications such as Ritalin. This is why government intervention in private matters is a big no, no. Lets make sure to continue our support of Mr. Ron Paul in his efforts and get the word out to the media about this. I've sent several emails out so far in hopes of getting someone to do a serious profile of this issue.

Does anyone Know why such a measure is even being considered under a Republican Administration?

What is that saying....the road to destruction is paved with good intentions?

Monday, November 22, 2004

Fox news has reported that Dan Rather of CBS is stepping down after 40 years on the air. CBS and Rather claim that the forged Bush National Guard document scandal had nothing to do with the dicision but had planned to step down after the November elections last summer. Rather, 73, will still be a correspondant with the 60 minutes shows.

I say it is about time and personally I don't believe he should be reporting the news at all anymore. He needs to officially retire and let someone else do the job he was supposed to be doing. Maybe he hopes to redeem himself by remaining a part of the 60 minutes crew as a correspondant. We shall see.

Quotable quote from Answers In Genesis:

“Let me summarize my views on what modern evolutionary biology tells us loud and clear … There are no gods, no purposes, no goal-directed forces of any kind. There is no life after death. When I die, I am absolutely certain that I am going to be dead. That’s the end for me. There is no ultimate foundation for ethics, no ultimate meaning to life, and no free will for humans, either.”

Friday, November 19, 2004

Government enforced mental screening of our children? Is that where we are headed? Should the government even have a say so in such a matter? This is an article by Kent Snyder regarding this very issue. Apparently many pharmaceutical companies are in favor of this measure(big surprise there) that is now before Congress as we speak. Snyder mentions U.S. Representative Ron Paul from Texas and an OB/GYN who is opposed to this measure. He recently attempted to add to the bill certain language that would give parents back their rights in choosing to participate in such a program. I encourage you to check out the article and the subsequent links,this onein particular is a good indicator of where Mr. Paul stands on the whole government intervening in medicine issue.

It seems that this issue has slipped under the radar and more people are now starting to speak up against this proposed measure. Below is a sample letter by one woman that was sent to Congress in protest. Being a Townhall.com member, she sent it to our meetup group urging us to use it and send it in expressing our disagreement. I encourage all who read this to do the same. The last thing I want is to be forced to put my child under phsychological scrutiny at the hands of government trained physicians.

Dear Congressman;
I strongly urge you to see that Congressman Ron Paul's language prohibiting funding of mandatory mental-health screening of children is included in the omnibus spending bill. I am appalled at the bill you are considering whereby all schoolchildren up to age 18 are to be psychologically tested.

At issue is the fundamental right of parents to decide what medical treatment is appropriate for their children. The notion of federal bureaucrats ordering potentially millions of youngsters to take psychotropic drugs like Ritalin strikes an emotional chord with parents, who are sick of relinquishing more and more parental control to government. Critics of the plan say it is a thinly veiled attempt by drug companies to provide a wider market for high-priced antidepressants and antipsychotic medication, and puts government in areas of Americans' lives where it does not belong.
Have you considered who will be making up mandatory or universal mental-health screening tests, will it be a valid test in the first place, and what criteria will be used to judge the mental capacity of the student tested and is the administration of drugs the approach that is needed? Frankly I see psychologist and psychiatrists as being some of the most screwed up people in this world. Many of them can not even handle their own affairs let alone others, yet they peddle their advice as if it is the gospel truth and has validity. Many times their so-called “cure” creates even worse problems. Children can become a problem in school due to a divorce or other problems in the family. Treating such things with Ritalin and other such mind altering drugs only masks the problem and is not the solution to the problems that children have nor does it fix the cause. Our children are not the psychological playground of incompetent state bureaucrats. It is not the states business to dictate the raising and the cure of a parents child. God gave the responsibility of raising children to the parents not to the state. Government needs to but out of our family life.

Another thing that scares me is the merging police state I see in this country. We are losing our freedoms and rights one after the another due to the legislation Congress is passing and the government programs being implemented. In the Soviet Union the communists attempted to paint all opposition to the police state as mental illness. It now seems our own federal government wants to create a therapeutic nanny state, beginning with schoolchildren and someday they'll be declaring the rest of us mentally incompetent so that they can continue on with their tyrannical control without opposition. I say no to this nonsense. Sounds like Nazi Germany all over again. I am asking you to represent the people and to stop this legislation now. If your name appears upon this legislation as having approved it you will not receive my vote next go around.

Sincerely;

It seems parental rights are being thrown out the window in every facet of life involving our children, from public education, entertainment, health care and now this.

On weekends I check out the public access channels to watch the LAUSD board meetings, to keep up with how much of my tax dollors they are continually wasting. One thing I always notice, in any discussion involving school programs, policies, problems with behavior, etc. the parents are never mentioned. I've seen supposedly, top performing high school teens appear before the board giving speaches riddled with grammatical errors, making little if any sense, usually because they do not speak English very well. When parents do bother to appear before them to express any greivances, they are never discussed at any length by the board. I remember one woman (a black woman) went before them, extremely angry. So angry she prayed a curse upon them right there in the name of the "Holy Ghost"! The board barely flinched, some didn't even look up at the woman. After she was done rebuking Satan out of the board, she left. Only one board member bothered to actually ask why the woman was so irrate, and of course no one knew why. They spend far more time discussing who and where to dish out more contracts than how to improve the system. I see more business men appear before them than parents. Amazing!

As parents we have to get organized and begin to take back control and responsiblity over the education and well being of our children, now!

Monday, November 15, 2004

This link is a press release from the Rainbow/Push Coalition expressing their grief over Yassar Arafat's death. It pretty much paints a picture of him as a martyr, comparing him to George Washington, Mandela and yes, Mr. Jackson even eludes to Moses, as Arafat was born in egypt as well. Amazing!

Mr. Jackson concludes with:

"Soon, Israeli-Palestinian coexistence will become a fact. Maybe fresh faces in the places of those who have led may be required. Israelis and Palestinians will abide with mutual recognition and coexistence in no small measure due to the contribution of Chairman Arafat"

It very well may become a fact, if and only if, someone of real character, honesty and truth steps up to the plate and works towards a democracy for Palestine rather than continue the legacy of terrorism and destruction that Mr. Arafat left behind.

Friday, November 12, 2004

I received these emails today, I guess in response to some of my postings on my blog or maybe my posts on other blogs. I decided to post them here anonymously to allow any of you out there in blogland to respond. I've already responded directly but thought it would be interesting to see what other explanations/arguments can be given in relation to these issues.

BTW, as for Stem Cell Research...did you know that, when a couple uses a fertility clinic, the embryos that are not implanted are...DESTROYED? How is THAT any different than an abortion? I mean, isn't that life created in a petri dish the same as the life created in the womb?

I know PLENTY of so-called Christians who USE fertility clinics.And the embryos they DON'T use are destroyed.

That being said, what's so wrong with donating those embryos for the purpose of research? I mean, if they aren't used for research, they're going to be flushed down a toilet...or whatever they do to destroy them.

Here is the second email I received from the same person:

But by passing your laws against gay marriage, aren't YOU forcing YOUR morals and lifestyle on THEM?! Or is it okay for YOU to do it, but no one else?

Tell me please...exactly HOW does a same sex couple getting married 3000 miles away affect YOUR marriage? And don't feed me that garbage about the "sanctity of marriage", okay...because at least 50% of all marriages in this country end in DIVORCE. Men cheat on their wives, and women cheat on their husbands....and so-called Christians seem to cheat just about as often as anyone else. Yes, REPUBLICANS cheat JUST AS OFTEN as democrats do.

Sanctity of marriage?! PLEASE...we don't hold marriage sacred in this country anymore. Haven't for YEARS! Michael Jackson got married...Dennis Rodman got married, for God's sake! How "sanctified" can marriage be if THESE guys were allowed to do it?

Feel free to respond and comment on either or both. Please be cordial and fair. Thank you.

Tuesday, November 09, 2004

This is an article on Townhall.com shedding some more light on the Oil for food scam between Iraq, the U.N. and several countries including France and Russia. Apparently it has been discovered that two Russian generals were heavily involved with Iraqi defense and weapons programs and were in the country just 10 days prior to the beginning of the U.S. lead invasion back in March 2003. Not only that but both of the generals were photographed receiving awards from Iraqi Defense Minister Sultan Hashim Ahmed. Amazing!

My guess is that more information like this will begin to be revealed before years end. One thing I have noticed though is that this scandal, and it is a scandal of the highest level, seems to not be reported a great deal in the mainstream news organizations. Why is that?

Just imagine if Kerry would have won the election. Do you think the Oil for food investigation would continue as it is under a Kerry/Edwards administration? Personally, I don't think so.

Thank God for President George W. Bush.

To get updated on the progression of the Oil for food scam and to get caught up on some of its history and origins, check out this link to the Heritage Foundation website. They have been writing, researching, and reporting on this since the onset and, I believe, were among the first to officially call for a full investigation of the U.N., requiring Kofi Anan to step down as U.N. Secretary General while the investigation took place.

Friday, November 05, 2004

This is an article brought to my attention written by a Jane Smiley. I've never heard of her or read any of her other work before. Apparently Ms. Smiley is not happy with the election results and decided to rant about it in her column. Here premise is simple, Bush won the election because conservative, southern, Christians are ignorant and stupid. I won't comment much more on it as you can click here and read it for yourself. I must caution you though, reading this may either make you very angry or have you laughing uncontrollably as I was. Here is just a snippet of this woman's thinking:

Here is how ignorance works: First, they put the fear of God into you—if you don't believe in the literal word of the Bible, you will burn in hell. Of course, the literal word of the Bible is tremendously contradictory, and so you must abdicate all critical thinking, and accept a simple but logical system of belief that is dangerous to question. A corollary to this point is that they make sure you understand that Satan resides in the toils and snares of complex thought and so it is best not try it.

That is just one of many golden nuggets of "wisdom" that fill this article. I am sure what will jump out at you immediately is the blatant hypocrisy of much of what she accuses the Right of doing is exactly what she is doing in this article.

Wednesday, November 03, 2004

Thank God almighty for his grace and mercy! Fox news reports that Kerry finally concedes to President Bush It's about time. I believe Fox declared Bush as winning first, before all of the other networks. When I left for my office this morning I was watching NBC's today show (don't have cable) and they were still reporting that Ohio, New Mexico, and Nevada were not decided yet. What is up this that?

Am my mistaken? Can someone correct me please, wasn't Fox news the first to declare Bush the winner? If so, why were the other networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, etc.)not reporting the same? Interesting? Like I said, this morning around 7:30am PST NBC was still reporting that the election was in the air and Ohio was not decided yet in addition to the other states mentioned above.

Well, anyway, may God bless President Bush and America!
____________________________________________

On a sadder note Prop. 71 passed here in the Golden State. Shameful. This state is really morally screwed up. Not to mention there really wasn't much resistance made in the mainstream to the proposition, why is that? Mel Gibson finally came out barely a week before. He ran a web based add urging to vote No on prop 71. Why not advertise on t.v.? The push to vote No was very poorly carried out in my opinion, this proposition passed due to a lack of knowledge and understanding. The general public were not properly informed of the truth, even in the local news when a reporter finally does acknowledge oppostion to prop 71, they only point out there were moral oppostion but do not state exactly what that oppostion is. The people were pandered to heavily by scientists and celebrities alike. It will truly be sad 10 years from now when we see that nothing but more debt and corruption comes from this measure. Not even the local conservative Republican chapters really spoke out against this initiative, amazing! Even our very own governator supported this initiative demonstrating his own moral failings and ignorance of the truth.

Tuesday, November 02, 2004

Here is a pdf of our "voter rights" as described and disseminated by the DNC. I received it in my email today. This is what the email said:

Dear Jerry,

We are on track for historic turnout in this election. America is coming out in record numbers for John Kerry.

And that has the Republicans scared. They have no plan, no hope, no way to win this election except to stop people from voting. Their strategy is simple:

Discourage Democratic voters from going to the polls by filling the airwaves with predictions of doom and gloom. Delay voting and create lines at polls by challenging voters and election officials. Deny voters the opportunity to cast their votes and have them counted.

But their strategy won't work. We will stop their attempts to deny our rights by using the best weapons in our arsenal: information and education.

It's vital that you know your voting rights. Take a minute today to make sure that others know their rights, too. Download our guide to voting rights:

http://www.democrats.org/votingrights/

Make sure to print out multiple copies and help us spread the word by distributing them as widely as you can.

For information about finding your polling place, use our polling place locator at Democrats.org:

http://www.democrats.org/

Remember: Voting is your right, and you are protected under the law. Exercise your right by voting for John Kerry, John Edwards, and all our Democratic candidates on November 2!

Sincerely,
Vincent Fry
Executive Director
DNC Voting Rights Institute

So after reading this I thought, why not check it out, there actually may be some serious, comprehensive info within this voting "guide". After downloading it and then reviewing it, which took all but 40 seconds, I must say I was quite disappointed. None of the information was anything shockingly new and really, should be what any average voting citizen should already know. Not to mention, when expressing that the elderly or disabled have a "right" to have help and accessibility to the polling place, they don't express exactly what kind of help or accessibility they mean. Not only that but what resources are available, i.e. phone numbers, websites, etc. can be accessed to find out what is available for me if I happen to be elderly or handicap?

There is a lot of other things I find disturbing about this as well, such as the fact that this is the first and only email I have received regarding voting rights, why wait until the day of the election to inform me of my so called rights to vote? Also, in the email they state that I am protected by law, well, what law? State it, at least in brief. Cite the code and section. In addition, all of the claims of voter tampering being made against the RNC just don't seem to add up. I just finished voting and did not stand in any long line, as a matter of fact, there was no line at all. Nor did I have any problems with filling out the provisional ballet, as I have moved since the last election. Nor did anyone give me problems when my name did not appear on the list. I did not need instructions on using the ballot box as they were clearly spelled out right in front of me in the voting booth, with little black and white illustrations to boot.

You know, it is funny, just yesterday Lashawn Barber of Lashawn Barbers Corner commented about how Dems view blacks as children, I agreed and added that many liberal minded blacks see themselves as children as well. Yet, I would go further and state that not only is this true about blacks, but I believe Dems view all of their constituents as children or child-like and this voter bill of rights crap is a perfect example of that fact.

Monday, November 01, 2004

This is an article on the CBC website called "Cloning and Stem Cell Research". Please take the time to read it and educate yourselves with the truth about this immoral and absolutely shameful ballot measure.

Powerlineblog.com ran by Bert Bregman, will be part of a special "team" of bloggers who will give special analysis of the election along with NBC's election night broadcast team. Lets give him the support and info he needs and support this endeavor. (JUST CLICK ON THE TITLE LINK TO GO TO HIS BLOG)

How exciting!

Good luck Mr. Bregman, do us bloggers proud!

_________
PROP. 71

For those Californians out there in the blogosphere and abroad, please get the word out about the truth behind prop 71. So far a couple of t.v. polls puts public support of this initiative at 60% for to 30% against, this is quite disheartening. For those who may not be aware, prop. 71 is an initiative that, if passed, would require funding from the state to the tune of about 3 billion dollars to go towards Stem Cell Research and has provisions within it that directs funds specifically for Embryonic Stem Cell research and ultimatey human cloning (somatic cell nuclear transfer). Their ad campaign features celebrities such as the late Christiopher Reeve, Micheal J. Foxx and also several well known and respected Nobel prize doctors and scientists. All profess the so called virtues of Stem Cell research, yet none mention that the funding will specifically and predominantly be used for Embryonic Stem Cell reaserch. The only reason why an initiative is supposedly needed is due in large part to the desire of many scientists to clone human beings. The prop 71 measure has in it language designed to actually give these researchers the right to clone a human being. As Wesley J. Smith of the CBC and a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute notes,

The same is not true of embryonic stem cell research or human cloning experiments. Federal funding of ESCR is restricted to cell lines in existence before August 9, 2001. Moreover, the federal government does not pay a dime for research into somatic cell nuclear transfer cloning, nor are there any current proposals for it to do so (although Ron Reagan's speech at the Democratic Convention promoted that course). Hence, the measure would make it a constitutional requirement that priority in funding go to human cloning research, since that area of research currently receives no federal funds, with embryonic stem cell research next in line, since there are policy limitations in place that biotechnologists claim encumber the research.

Ultimately, Prop. 71 cannot pass in that the state should not be funding research that requires a viable fetus to be created for the specific purpose of being destroyed and ultimately used for cloning. This is immoral in that it subverts the inherent God-given dignity of human life and will only serve to spiral this state and the nation further into an abyss of moral apathy. I appeal to those Christian bloggers out there. For the secular bloggers, keep in mind that your tax dollars will be used to support this practice, a practice that hasn't proven itself viable in the private sector, inspite of receiving more than adequate funding from the very same. But because of this failure to demonstrate any real progress, this funding is at risk of disipating, which is why these groups are appealing to voters to get public funding, while ASC research has proven to be far more feasible within the private sector. Not to mention, all of the promised treatments and cures are bogus, there is no evidence to support a claim that Alzhimers, Parkinsons or any other brain defect/desease can be cured by either research method. The ads and literature supporting ESC research is quite disingenuous and flat out lies to the public and plays to their emotions and ignorance on this issue, promising quick, short term results. For that reason alone this propostion should not be passed. Keep in mind also, as quoted above, that there is still federally funded research taking place, which allows for pre-existing embryos already slated for destruction or destroyed to be used for ESC reasearch. Contrary to popular belief, there is no federal ban on Stem Cell Research nor specifically, Embryonic Stem Cell research.

A good resource on Stem Cell Research is at the website of the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity(CBHD). There are numerous articles, stats and the like on both ESC and ASC research. Another resource is the Center for Bioethics and Culture where you will find world renouned scientists and bio-ethicists espousing the truth regarding stem cell research and where you will find the article I quoted from in its entirety. A link to the article regarding prop 71 and the fiscal crisis in California is here.

Please take the time to educate yourself, take a stand and vote NO on Prop. 71, it is immoral to its core in every way you can think of.